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Ask Helen- So much to shred!

Question: I have boxes full of papers that need to be shredded. I dread sitting down to shred them two or three pages at a time and my shredder often gets too hot leaving me waiting to resume feeding it. What’s the best way to manage my shredding so I don’t end up with a mountain of paper and an afternoon shredding event?

I feel your pain! No one wants to spend their free-time feeding a shredder. The good news is that I have a solution for you. We’re going to return to an Austen Organizing Principle I stress frequently: It’s often easier to do something daily rather than once in a while.

Therefore, get a good quality shredder and place it in the heart of your home. This could be in your walk-in pantry, mud room, hall closet, kitchen, garage, etc. I have mine near the door that leads from my kitchen into the garage because I can easily get to it right after I sort my mail everyday. The idea is that it’s as close as possible to where you sort your mail and any other incoming paper. Everyday (or every time) you sort paper, you immediately feed papers that need to be shredded it into your shredder.

Why should you get a high quality shredder? Because the cheap ones tend to burn up or break. I suggest this one on amazon.

Get a good shredder and shred those papers everyday. It’s that simple! No more boxes full of paper waiting to be shredded!